(4) Heirs of the promise

26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

if you have faith as a mustard seed

Our symbol for today is the seed.

Make your own ornament:
One empty clear glass ornament, a package of whole mustard seeds from the grocery store, and a 1/8 inch wide red satin ribbon. Fill the transparent ornament with the seeds, cap with the end piece, tie a small ribbon bow decoratively around the top, then make a loop to hang ornament. Pretty! If you want you could dust the seeds with gold glitter for a bit of sparkle.

A project for little children is to have a circle of stiff paper and glue the seeds to the circle. Decorate with rickrack around the edge and thread a piece of red yarn through a hole made with a paper punch, after the project is dry.

Carol: I Wonder as I Wander
[music pdf]
1. I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.
For poor on’ry people like you and like I…
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.
For poor on’ry people like you and like I…
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

2. When Mary birthed Jesus ’twas in a cow’s stall,
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall,
And the promise of ages it then did recall.

3. If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,
A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing,
Or all of God’s angels in heav’n for to sing,
He surely could have it, ’cause he was the King.

Thoughts:
Jesus could have had anything He wanted, but gave it all so we could be heirs, inheritors, of the wealth and blessing of heaven. It cost him his blood, shed on a cruel cross, the instrument of torment and death. From a humble beginning, through a terrible suffering, Christ now reigns in heaven and calls us to be heirs, children of God, with such great promises that we don’t even understand the half of them. One clue is found in this chapter of Galatians, however. It is for our freedom, and equality, that Christ purchased such a great salvation for us.

No one values our freedom and our equal opportunities more than the Lord. What are we using our present freedoms and equality for at this time? Have we considered the glorious purposes they could be used for… or are we neglecting and wasting them? How do you view the heritage that Christ has given you?